Friday, September 6, 2013

Bonefishing in Wyoming

Yesterday was incredible! My friend, Scott Sawtelle, and I have fished together in Brazil, the Yucatan, Mongolia, Los Roques and the Bahamas... we've literally fished around the world together, but I'm not sure we've ever had a better day than yesterday anywhere we've been on our far-flung adventures!

By 9:00 AM, we found ourselves deep in the Hole-in-the Wall country south of Kaycee. We eventually reached a canyon hidden by red rock buttresses that was the sight of the Dull Knife Battlefield. The water on this working ranch was low, clear and filled with big trout. After the first long riffle, we realized we were in reality bonefishing in Wyoming. We spent the day wading, searching and sightfishing for 17-19+ inch trout in 8-15 inches of water with foam hoppers. After a big fish was sighted, we stalked until we were in position to make a long cast and then let 'er rip.

Fish were very spooky due to the clarity and skinniness of the water they were prowling. We often found the biggest fish at the tail end of riffles or against shallow cutbacks! If you could make the cast, create a natural drift and complete the long distance hook set, these big fat trout could be caught. The rainbows greedily slashed at the hoppers, while the browns slurped the hoppers in slow motion as if they were swimming through Karo syrup.

About Me

Scott Heywood has explored the world, not only as a world class mountaineer and an elite white water kayaker, but also as a fly fisherman, having always managed to conceal a travel rod somewhere in his gear.
He was inducted into the Explorers Club in 1994. As an owner, trip host and photographer for Angling Destinations, Inc., Scott has fished all over the world both in fresh and saltwater for the last 35 years in search of great fly fishing opportunities. From the Seychelles to Kamchata and from Mongolia to French Polynesia, Scott has found great fishing, stunning scenery, a dazzling array of animal life and many great friends.
These days, Scott can be found traveling the world looking for new, remote water with big, naive fish.